Granholm's flag order for fallen soldiers draws fire

FLINT, Mich. (AP) Â? Criticism of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's order that U.S. and Michigan flags be flown at half-staff to honor soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan caught a top aide by surprise.

Granholm has ordered the flags lowered 67 times since December 2003. Governors in more than a dozen states, including Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota, have issued similar orders.

But critics say the policy violates the U.S. Flag Code, which they say was intended to honor only high-ranking government and elected officials, not soldiers or National Guard members.

"The world seems to be caught up in this frame of mind where it's not enough to say we're sorry (for a death) to show our compassion and our patriotism," said Bruce Butgereit of Kentwood, national patriotic instructor for the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.

"We are now taking it upon ourselves to use our national symbols to stretch the Flag Code to its limits," Butgereit told The Flint Journal for a story published Sunday.

The code, signed into law in 1942, contains guidelines for handling the flag and defines who can order U.S. flags lowered to half-staff and when it is appropriate. It grants the president the most discretion; President Bush has ordered flags lowered for officials including Pope John Paul II and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. He also ordered flags lowered to honor the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"The U.S. (flag) code provides the governor with that option, and the governor has chosen to exercise it," Boyd said. "Where is the controversy in honoring brave men and women who are fighting for our freedoms in Iraq and Afghanistan? The controversy is lost on me.

"We are not the flag police. Our focus has been in honoring the fallen heroes," Boyd said.

"Dick would take a more literal approach," DeVos campaign spokesman John Truscott said. "While he certainly believes that honoring veterans who have given their lives is extremely important, lowering the flag has typically been reserved for heads of state."

History buff Jeannine Trybus of Grand Rapids said fallen soldiers deserve honor and respect, but not at the expense of tradition.

"I think every time that flag comes down it cheapens the gesture," said Trybus, a member of the Grand Rapids Civil War Roundtable. "I don't believe the soldiers expect this. There are so many people denigrating the United States. I don't think we should be part of that by denigrating one of our own symbols and its meaning."